On the Subject of Not Light Cycle

The name “Light Cycle” was taken.

There are six colored LEDs beneath six white LEDs. One of the colored LEDs will be lit, while the white LEDs will flash a sequence.

The flashing sequence of white LEDs corresponds to the shape and location of a tetrahex¹ on a 4×4 hexagonal grid (seen to the right) with the color of the lit colored LED.

To construct and place this tetrahex, take the positions of each flashing LED from left to right. Start at the corner corresponding to the first flash, then move in the directions corresponding to each following flash. The hexes reached after these movements form the tetrahex.

Place this tetrahex on the grid. (Overwrite the colors of previously placed hexes if necessary.) If there exists a continuous path of non-empty hexes connecting any of the grid’s corners to its diametrically opposite corner, proceed to the next section. Otherwise, press and immediately release the button to generate another tetrahex. Attempting to generate a tetrahex when a path connecting two corners is present will incur a strike.

Forming the Path

• If the most recently placed tetrahex contains one of the connected corners, start at that corner. Otherwise, start from the first corner in numerical order.
• Take the shortest path from that corner to its diametric opposite corner.
• If there are multiple paths that are tied in length, use the path which has the most color changes between successive hexes.
• If there are multiple paths that are tied in the number of color changes between successive hexes, traverse the path from start to finish. At each place where the paths differ, take the direction that was moved from the previous hex, or towards the finishing hex if this is the first movement. Prioritize paths stemming from this direction and then each direction proceeding clockwise.

1A shape made up of four continuous regular hexagons attached to each other.
Akin to a tetromino with hexagonal cells instead of square cells.

Marking the Path

• Always mark the first hex in the path. Then proceed through the remaining hexes from the path.
• From this position, mark hexes based on the rules in the table below.
• Start at the row corresponding to the fourth character of the bomb’s serial number. Then move down one row for the next hex, wrapping around from one side of the table to the other if needed.
• If the first hex in the path and the last placed tetrahex are both red, blue, or green, move up one row instead.

Step	Mark this Hex if:
A or Z	The previous hex is closer to the center than this hex.
B or Y	The previous hex is adjacent to a corner hex.
C or X	The previous hex shares a color with any of the corner hexes.
D or W	The previous hex is red or white or green.
E or V	The previous hex is on the outer ring of hexes.
F or U	The previous hex is marked.
G or T	The previous hex is not magenta or white or red.
H or S	The previous hex shares its color with this hex.
I or R	The previous hex is the center hex or adjacent to it.
J or Q	The previous hex is white or green or magenta.
K or P	The previous hex is not marked.
L or O	The previous hex does not share a color with this hex.
M or N	The previous hex is red or blue or magenta.

Part IV: Light Cycle

To begin submission, hold down the button until the colored LEDs begin to cycle from left to right, initially slowly but gradually increasing in speed. Release the button when the color of the first marked hex is lit. Hold the button at the color of the next marked hex, release the button at the color of the next marked hex, and repeat this cycle until the module is disarmed.